Eurotopics.net

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine to mark the Orthodox Christmas. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, has refused to give the order for his troops to stop firing, saying that the Russians just want to use Christmas as a pretext to stop the Ukrainian advance in Donbass. The press is also suspicious.

France has agreed to supply Ukraine with AMX-10 RC light battle tanks, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced the deployment of Marder infantry fighting vehicles and the US plans to send Bradley tanks. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky sees these moves as a new level of support in the country's struggle against Russia. Commentators welcome these decisions but also call for more.

After eleven rounds of voting, the US House of Representatives is still without a speaker because of a blockade by 20 Republicans who view their party's candidate Kevin McCarthy as too moderate. Even a call by former President Donald Trump to vote for McCarthy failed to convince the "Never Kevins".

Turkey will hold parliamentary and presidential elections in June - unless they are brought forward. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is being challenged by a six-party alliance that wants to abolish the current presidential system, which gives Erdoğan enormous power. However, the alliance partners have yet to name their joint candidate.

EU member Croatia joined both the Eurozone and the Schengen Area on 1 January 2023. At a joint press conference in Zagreb, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of a "day for history books". The reactions of the press range from applause to criticism.

As the G20 summit kicks off in Bali, all eyes are on the face-to-face meeting between US President Joe Biden and China's leader Xi Jinping on Monday. The trade war, spying allegations, human rights abuses, and Taiwan have put a strain on relations between the two countries for some time now. What can the world expect from the meeting?